Australia
Plaintiff loses rape libel case
Surrounded by media representatives: Bruce Lehrmann. photo
© Bianca De Marchi/AAP/dpa
The case surrounding a possible rape in Parliament kept Australia in suspense for years. A dramatic verdict has now been reached in a closely followed defamation trial.
Lehrmann had sued the broadcaster Network Ten and its journalist Lisa Wilkinson for defamation. The accusation that he had raped his former colleague Brittany Higgins was made public on a TV show.
The case had kept the country and its political scene in suspense for years. Lehrmann and Higgins both worked on the staff of then-Liberal Defense Minister Linda Reynolds. When both returned to the office in the Canberra Parliament in March 2019 after an evening together in a bar, Judge Michael Lee was convinced that Lehrmann raped the drunken colleague there.
Judge also criticizes the defendant broadcaster
After Higgins’ accusation in spring 2021, thousands of women showed solidarity with Higgins and took to the streets against violence against women. Court proceedings against Lehrmann were dropped at the end of 2022. It was only during the defamation trial that additional witnesses were questioned and evidence was evaluated. Judge Lee found the right image for the now convicted perpetrator: “Already escaping the lion’s den, Mr. Lehrmann made the mistake of going back to get his hat.”
The judge also criticized the defendant broadcaster Network Ten. The reported circumstance of the rape was true, but other allegations made by Higgins in this context were presented as fact without being verified. Network Ten nonetheless hailed the verdict in a statement on Monday as a “triumph for the truth” and “rehabilitation for the courageous Brittany Higgins.”